Trump's Special Representative Flew to Lukashenko for Talks

Special Representative of U.S. President Donald Trump, John Cole 15, arrived in Minsk in September, where he met with Belarusian self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko. This is reported by Glavkom, citing the Belarusian state news agency.

The negotiations took place at the Palace of Independence. From the Belarusian side, Prime Minister Aleksander Turchin, KGB Chairman Ivan Tertel, and Belarus's permanent representative to the UN Valentin Rybakov also took part in the meeting.

During the meeting, Cole conveyed greetings to Lukashenko from Donald Trump. According to the Belarusian leader, the American president “fully supports everything we do.”

The current talks are a continuation of contacts between Washington and Minsk that have intensified recently. Cole has visited Belarus several times and held meetings with Lukashenko. The previous talks took place in March 2026.

One of the key issues in U.S.–Belarus relations is the release of Belarusian political prisoners. According to Reuters, the current Cole visit is linked to continuing negotiations on the release of political prisoners in exchange for easing U.S. sanctions against Minsk.

On the eve of the visit, Cole also visited Vilnius, where he met Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. The parties discussed Belarus–Lithuania relations and the security situation in the region.

Contacts between Washington and Minsk occur against the backdrop of Belarus’s continued close ties with Russia. Lukashenko remains one of the key allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin and supports Moscow in its war against Ukraine.

It should be reminded that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the United States had allegedly departed from the agreements reached during the talks in Anchorage, hence the war against Ukraine continues.